Line of Duty parody takes on the Downing Street party allegations in latest Led By Donkeys video

Line of Duty may have been off of our television screens for months now but the legacy of Ted Hastings and AC-12 continues to live on even in real-life cases.

The activist group Led By Donkeys, best known for their video displays outside of political headquarters, have now taken their protest to the Met Police amid the ongoing scandal surrounding Christmas parties allegedly hosted by government officials during last December’s Covid restrictions.

The Met Police has said that it will not be investigating specific allegations that there was a party held in Number 10 Downing Street during the tier 3 lockdown that was imposed upon London last year, preventing people from socialising indoors.

In the five minute clip shared by Led By Donkeys on Wednesday, a video plays outside of New Scotland Yard, directly addressing Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick. The voiceover sounds remarkably like Adrian Dunbar, who played the no-nonsense head of the AC-12 Superintendent Ted ‘Mother of God’ Hastings.

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In the video, Hastings – or at least a very good impression of him – tells Dick that “ma’am, I must protest” when laying out the evidence that there was a party in Downing Street, adding: “I didn’t float up the Lagan in a bubble” (one of his beloved quotes from the latest series).

“Last week, senior officers who work in this building issued a statement declaring they would not be investigating the unlawful Christmas party held in Downing Street last year,” booms Hastings in his typical interrogation voice.

“The statement claimed a criminal enquiry is not possible because there is, quote, ‘an absence of evidence’.

“Correct me if I’m wrong here ma’am, but the whole purpose of a police enquiry is to gather evidence, but because your officers are unwilling to get off their backsides and find it, my team are bringing that evidence direct to Scotland Yard.”

Then comes a classic Ted-ism: “Jesus, Mary and Joseph, led by the wee donkey. Who exactly does the Metropolitan Police work for ma’am? Our citizens or Boris Johnson?”

Led By Donkeys were asked if that was actually Dunbar’s voice in the video to which they could “neither confirm or deny that Adrian Dunbar is a member of our investigations team.”

Jed Mercurio, the writer of Line of Duty, added that he couldn’t confirm whether Dunbar was involved either but ‘all the rules were followed.’

In a statement given to indy100, the Met Police will not be offering any further comments but did provide a statement on the Downing Street party allegations.

A spokesperson said: “The Metropolitan Police Service has received a significant amount of correspondence relating to allegations reported in the media that the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) Regulations were breached at gatherings at No. 10 Downing Street in November and December 2020.

All this correspondence has been considered by detectives in detail, as well as footage published by ITV News. The correspondence and footage does not provide evidence of a breach of the Health Protection Regulations, but restates allegations made in the media. Based on the absence of evidence and in line with our policy not to investigate retrospective breaches of such Regulations, the Met will not commence an investigation at this time.

The Met has had discussions with the Cabinet Office in relation to the investigation by the Cabinet Secretary. If any evidence is found as a result of that investigation, it will be passed to the Met for further consideration..”